Save Me
by SonicStories101
Summary: Sonic is a teenager being abused by his father. A miracle happens and he gets friends. Will they help him repair his life? And who is the girl who's caught his eye? Note: SonicxTikal; don't like? Don't read.
1. Morning

**Ok here is the new story. NO, I have not and hope to never be abused but I have a sense of what it's like. Some mean words here and there that's all that's happened to me. If you are being abused, tell someone you may feel alone but there are sooo many people who would and will listen. I know one right off the top of my head. Check out her webpage on here, her name is Puldoh. Great author and listener. **

**DISCLAIMER: I don't own anybody in this EXCEPT some made up characters who were not in the original SEGA/SONIC TEAM developement (sp?). Such as: Sonic's father, Spike, ect. Ok we cool?**

**Summary (for reminder): Growing up abused is not easy, especially when you're one of the most popular students in high school. Sonic has had 2 homes before and both had abusive, drug-addicted and alcoholic parents. Thinking the third time's the charm, Sonic hopes for better. But all is not so fortunate for him, worse than before is his real father. Life gets tough being beat so Sonic decides to go to high school to escape his prison. Is school worse or better for Sonic? Will he finally find some friends he can go to for help? Can he find his guardian angel?**

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"Wake up shrimp!" yelled a slurred voice from down the stairs.

Sonic sat up slowly and tried to ignore the screaming in his arms and legs. Groaning, he noted it was only 4 in the morning and already he was to have more punishment for some unknown cause.

"I said wake up!" the voice yelled again, louder this time.

Sonic called through clenched teeth, "Coming!" Already he knew by the end of this day he wouldn't be able to speak loudly. He slowly made his way down the hall and went to the bathroom, which was littered with ciggarette buds, beer bottles, beer cans and much more. Sonic came down the stairs and saw the bloodshot eyes of his father staring back.

"Where were you the first 15 times I called?"

Sonic carefully said, "You only called twice, _father._" He hated the man with a fiery passion but he would not voice that aloud again; remembering what had happened last time.

James shook his head, "Whatever. You know the daily stuff so get ready."

Sonic grimanced and nodded slowly. _God help me.._

15 minutes later, and Sonic was crawling up the stairs to his room. _Not one day of rest for the hurt in this house, _he thought darkly. New bruises were already forming on his forearms and legs. Everything hurt, nothing was spared from injury.

"Stay up in your room tonight, brat! I'm having some company tonight and need silence.." James's slurred voice called up the stairs.

Sonic stopped for a second, _Charlene... _"Alright..." Sonic knew that he'd have to get out of his house before Charlene came over. But what could he do for 3 hours? _Maybe I could go to the park. No, they'd know to look there... _

The doorbell ringing knocked him from his thoughts. He heard kissing downstairs and knew Charlene was there. _I have to go somewhere and quick! _The window was his only option at that instant. Without any hesitation Sonic climbed out the window and jumped down to the ground with perfected grace. Anywhere would be better than there.

Sonic walked down the sidewalk for the first time since he arrived here. He had been brought here only 3 weeks ago but had never once actually walked on the sidewalk without hiding. The sun shined down in warming streams. _I wish I got that at home... _he thought. Warmth was something Sonic never recieved from anyone but oh how he wished to feel it.

A group of high schoolers were walking toward him but he didn't mind. Sonic noted there was 3 girls and 4 guys, one girl was a purple cat, another was a pink hedgehog, the last was a cream colored rabbit. The guys were mostly hedgehogs, a black one with red on his quills, a silver one, a red echidna with a moon shape on his chest and an orange fox that had 2 tails. Sonic decided to lean against the light pole while they passed, that was better than confrontation after all.

Shadow glanced at the boy leaning on the light pole, his jeans were torn and tattered, his white shirt was stained slightly, but what caught him most was the sad, lost look in his eyes. He nudged Silver and murmured quietly, "Look..."

Silver did and he caught on to something different, a restlessness surrounded him, like he was paranoid. This hedghog definitely had his attention.

Tails caught on as well but decided to just be friendly, "Hi!"

The blue hedgehog turned quickly, "H-Hi." Sonic had not anticipated them to make contact with him...

Amy giggled at his stutter.

Tails shifted his bookbag, "What's going on?"

The boy shrugged slowly, "Nothing much, you guys?"

They all shrugged. Knuckles spoke this time, "You look like you should be in high school, but I've never seen you."

Shadow saw the boy's face change from friendly to freightened.

"I-I uhh my parents home school me."

Silver knew that wasn't the truth, "That must suck, you don't have many friends, do you?"

Sonic shook his head, "No..."

Tails smiled, "I got an idea!" Everyone looked at him, "We could be your friends!"

Sonic looked surprised, "You want to be my friends?" Why? Why are they so friendly? He simply couldn't figure it out... Was this how normal people behaved?

Tails nodded and kept the bright smile pasted on his face, "Why not? You're nice enough, not to mention our age!"

Sonic smiled back hesitantly, "O-Okay..."

Tails jumped, "SWEET! I Miles Prowler, but everybody calls me Tails."

Sonic chuckled, "I'm Sonic."

Everyone lightened some, "I'm Knuckles, the silver hedgehog is Silver, the black hedgehog is Shadow, the cat is Blaze, the hedgehog is Amy, and the rabbit is Cream."

Sonic smiled again, "Nice to m-meet you all."

An angry tan hedgehog approached them, "Did you honestly think you could escape?" He stumbled but continued stomping towards the group.

Sonic paled considerably, "D-Dad?"

The hedgehog grinned evily, "Damn right, you little twerp!"

Silver became angry, who was this man to talk to Sonic in such a way?

Shadow knew exactly what was happening but he needed proof to actually point and say it. _In due time_, he told himself.

Sonic felt a sudden anger and retorted back with, "I could've gotten away with you being drunk all the time!" SLAP!

Sonic fell to the ground, shocked. James had never dared to hit him in public!

The others were horrified, their parents would never dream of becoming physical when angry.

Amy growled, "What is the matter with you! That's abuse! You're not allowed to do that!" Her anger overwhelmed her sense of safety, she forgot about her momentary fear of the man turning on them.

The hedgehog hissed at Amy, "You stay out of this you wench!"

Shadow stepped in then, "Nobody, not even a scumbag like you does that to my girl!" Shadow could smell the alcohol on his breath and knew that he was severely drunk. A sound made him look down at the blue hedgehog.

Everyone else looked as well, his whole body was trembling and they knew at once he was crying. It was then when Shadow and everyone else could see the bruises that covered his arms, why had they not noticed before?

Knuckles connected the dots and was pissed, "You little s-" his mouth got covered.

A female white bat looked at him sadly, "Words can't do anything in this case." She lowered her hand and looked at the kid on the ground.

Amy handed her books to Knuckles and kneeled next to Sonic, he didn't look at her. "Sonic?"

He still looked at the ground, "That's not the worst thing that's happened..." He dared not say anymore, in fear of what James could do.

Amy was startled, "What else has he done?" Now she was really worried.

James stepped forward, "You shut the hell up missy! That's none of your business!"

Silver pushed him away from them, "It is now."

Tails took out his phone, "Go or I'll call the police and I mean it!" That made him leave, he mumbled something that couldn't be heard but they knew it wasn't pleasant.

Finally with James gone, they decided to get some answers from Sonic. However when they looked back at him, his head was in Amy's lap.

Silver asked, "What happened?"

Amy looked scared, "I don't know! He just passed out!"

Tails kneeled down and took his pulse, it was pretty weak. "We have to get him somewhere safe. Hospital preferably."

Shadow took out a chaos emerald, "Join hands," everyone did so, "CHAOS CONTROL!"

In a bright flash of light, they were gone.

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**Well was it good? Did it suck, what! Tell me if you will in a review.**


	2. The Hospital

**Next chapter (obviously). Couldn't decide which to update, I like where this one is heading so, I wanted to get another chapter on it first. Sorry for the wait on Silver's Sickness, no ideas have come, :( sorry. Hope you enjoy this next chapter! More cussing in this chapter, again not terrible.**

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While they were being transported to the nearest hospital, Amy and the others readied themselves for a straight out sprint the rest of the way to the hospital.

It didn't take too long, which was good because Tails knew that Sonic had some kind of internal injury that needed to be taken care of as soon as possible.

From transporting so many people, Shadow felt slightly dizzy; but it soon cleared and he ran alongside the others.

Knuckles had Sonic in his arms and was running as fast as he could and was surpassing many of the others, all except Shadow that was.

Once inside, they all went to the secretary and asked for immediate care.

She silenced them, "Calm down all of you! Now what's wrong with what person?"

Shadow found Tails and shoved him forward. The only one of them that knew the most about such situations was the fox.

Tails sighed, "I took his pulse and it was weak, I also believe he has internal injuries."

The secretary became urgent at that, "Which one?" Tails pointed to the blue hedgehog in Knuckles's arms. She gasped slightly and paged the best doctor.

The doctor arrived in seconds, or so it seemed. He called over a few nurses to aid him and together they placed Sonic on a stretcher. Shouting a few orders, they all rushed off.

The secretary watched where they had been in shock, "What happened to that boy?"

Tails answered for everyone, "We're not sure, we found him on the streets."

The secretary nodded and sat down, "Take a seat, based on his condition, it'll be awhile."

They all nodded mutely and settled into the lobby chairs.

Blaze growled, "Tails! What the hell was that?"

Tails sat heavily, "Look just because we saw that guy slap Sonic, doesn't necessarily mean it happens everyday." He knew it was probably and everyday thing but they needed to be sure.

It was Shadow's turn to speak, "Tails it's pretty damn obvious Sonic is very uneasy around that man. However... I do agree with you... We really don't know the full situation but I will say the man had a heavy stench of alcohol on his breath. That points to the fact he's an alcoholic. I also caught a faint smell of cigarette smoke."

Silver sighed wearily, "So he's alcoholic, nicotine addicted and possibly abusive. What else could be wrong?"

Amy shook her head, "Never ask, there's so many possilities, _endless posibilities_ for what it could be."

Knuckles just shook his head in pity of it all.

Meanwhile the doctors had found out what was wrong and fixed Sonic the best they could. Some of the damage they guessed would be permanent. The nurses took him to a room while the doctor went to tell the news.

He went over to the group of teenagers and coughed to get their attention. "Good news and bad news, which first," he asked.

Tails shrugged, "Good first I guess."

The doctor nodded, "Alright, the good news is that he made it through the operation and is is doing well. The bad news is that we think some damage will be permanent. We also found some signs of scarred tissues near his groin. Any idea what it may be from?"

Tails looked down, "We actually have a concern that he may be being abused. We don't have enough proof but we have a rising suspicion."

The doctor nodded, "I can agree to that... Might I have your names?"

Tails just began pointing to each as he called the names off, "Knuckles, Blaze, Silver, Shadow, Cream, Amy and I'm Tails." They waved slightly.

The doctor nodded to them all, "I'm doctor Anthony Kings. But if you'd like, call me Anthony. Now if you'd like, I can take you to Sonic's room."

They all anxiously followed.

The shape Sonic was in freightened Amy and Cream the most.

A heart monitor beeped slowly, showing his heartbeat. An I.V. needle was stuck in his forearm to give him blood he was missing. The were what looked like thousands of bruises upon his arms and one on his face where he was slapped. All of the bruises stood out on his rather pale complection. His eyes where closed and a scowl was on his lips.

Amy sat in front of Shadow who held her shoulders with care. He felt her despair, this must have been going on awhile.

Cream huddled into Tails's chest and cried silently.

Rouge sat on Knuckles's lap and looked on sadly.

Silver gently rubbed Blaze's back trying to bring what small comfort he could.

They sat still for about half an hour before Amy noticed he was moving slightly. She grinned slightly and said, "Guys I think he is waking up!"

All eyes turned to Sonic who had opened his eyes ever so slightly.

He slowly sat up and looked around, confused.

Shadow spoke gently, "You're at the hospital, you passed out while we were dealing with your _father._"

Sonic smiled at them slowly, "Then you guys brought me here and waited for me to wake up?"

They nodded, "That's what friends do." Tails said with firmness.

Sonic looked to the window and mouthed 'thank you' to the sky.

Shadow watched him do so and smiled hesitantly.

Tails thought that maybe they should ask Sonic just exactly what had happened to him, but decided against it. The hedgehog had been through enough as it was. Why add to his list?

They all felt the want to ask Sonic about what happened but decided to wait for tomorrow. For now, they'd give him the love he needed to be happy and excited if he still had the will to be.

Sonic eventually asked them to tell more of themselves so he could know them better, they all reluctantly agreed and told as many things as they could.

Sonic smiled and thought of things they said as they talked. In his heart, he wished for the same love, warmth, and care they all recieved, he didn't envy them for it though. Instead all he could think was how happy he was for them to have such lives that weren't filled with grief and despair. No, their lives were filled with memories of good deeds and happy events that shone from the family like a beam of light. But not any old light, like the sun generated, no it was heaven's light. It was special in it's own way. Sonic now realised his life was shadowed by a dark cloud of grief, despair, agony and lies. It was a cloud so dark, no light ever showed it's beautiful face to the cold ground. Until now, the clouds began to peel apart and the light he had so dearly wished for all his life began to shine ever so slightly to the cold ground that was his heart, broken, cracked and hollow. The light felt refreshing to his heart and warmed it. Sonic knew the light would dissappear as soon as the new day began but for now he would bask in what light shined and if it never came through again, remember it with everything he had.

Another thing crossed his mind as he listened to the stories of his friends, this was a new day, a new dawn that might bring to him some hope to find his path that he had lost as a child. This path would allow him to become stronger and fight back at the darkness that had so long covered his life. Determination to break that old track of continuous pain gave him power he had never felt before, a power of control to the life he knew. He smiled, this was a new era and it would bring good, and with luck, freedom.

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**Wah lah! Another chapter done, I is happy! Alright, tell me what you think! Hoping you like it!**


	3. Good News

**Next chapter to this story, still slightly blocked on the other stories to they're all on hold for now. Hope you enjoy this next chapter...**

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Sonic opened his eyes slightly and yawned, he had actually slept well for a change. Not to mention he had actually gotten to sleep in; he wasn't awakened at 6 in the morning by an angry and drunk 'father'.

He looked around tiredly at the sleeping figures of his friends sprawled out in different places in the room.

The sun was shining through his blinds brilliantly and welcomed the new day. He welcomed the new day as well.

A moan made Sonic look at his friends again.

Knuckles, who had been on the floor, sat up and sighed, "What time is it...?"

Sonic chuckled and answered quietly, "It's noon, Knuckles."

Sonic watched as Knuckles whipped around and stared at him, "Oh kinda forgot where I was for a minute..."

Sonic smiled, "I do alot too."

Knuckles nodded and yawned, "Better wake the others. We have loads of homework to do."

Sonic watched the others while Knuckles whistled, loud enough to wake the entire hospital.

They all shot up and started complaining, Sonic and Knuckles burst out laughing.

Shadow glared at Knuckles tiredly, "Why'd you have to spoil my dream?"

Knuckles shrugged and simply stated, "Homework."

They all groaned.

Sonic chuckled, "Is it _that_ much, I mean it _is _only Saturday."

Amy giggled, "If you ever enroll, you'll find out."

Sonic's smile turned to a frown, "Y-Yea, I g-guess..."

They all were surprised at his sudden mood change.

Amy felt guilt well up inside her, "Sorry..."

Sonic looked at her with understanding," Amy, it wasn't you. Just the topic, I-I lied you all when we met."

Tails's head tilted, "You did?"

Sonic nodded sadly, regret filling him, "I said my parents home schooled me, well they don't, I'm not even enlisted in a school."

A nurse who had been eavesdropping sighed sadly, 'Poor kid, all alone to face those monsters of parents and he's being abused on top of that? It's depressing what life does to people...' she thought. She called the nearest school and told them she had a new student. She entered the room, still on the cordless phone and said, "Sonic.. we might have a school for you to go to."

Sonic looked up in surprise, "W-What?"

She smiled kindly and gestured to the phone in her hand, "We might have a school that will take you."

He stared in silence and then asked, "Do they want to talk?"

She nodded and handed the phone to him. It went like this:

"Hello?"

_"Hello there, I am the School Principal at Eastern High and I was told that I may be having a new student. Is your name Sonic?"_

"Yes.. that would be me." Her voice sounded kind at least.

_"Well that is somewhere to start, how old are you Sonic?"_

He had to think about that for a second, "I turned 15 a couple of months ago."

_"Alright so that would make you a Freshman in High School I suppose?"_

He didn't want to make it seem like he was ignorant to the schooling world so said, "Yes."

_"Hmm... You don't happen to know a twin tailed kitsune named Miles Prowler do you?"_

The name struck him for some reason... "I don't think s- wait! Tails? Yeah I know him."

_"Alright well it seems you are better prepared than I thought... Tell me something Sonic. The person I previously spoke too made it sound like your family life is bad.. Is this true?"_

He shuddered, "...Yes. Not a pleasant subject for me."

_"I can understand that. My own family life wasn't the best. Having drunkards for parents isn't the best family situation for a person..."_

He nodded in agreement, "Definitely not."

_"Well I tell you what.. when you come in Monday, if you feel the need to talk I will listen."_

Sonic was touched, "T-Thank you... wait.. I start monday?" Excitement welled up within him.

_"Yes you do Sonic! The school is called Eastern High, it is a very large complex; you can't miss it."_

"Eastern High huh..." he nodded to himself. It definitely sounded like a rich school. "I have a problem though.. I highly doubt my dad will buy any school supplies or even pay any school fees so.. this might not even happen." He felt saddened by the fact.

_"Oh don't worry about that... I will personally see to it that you won't have to pay for anything school related. You just worry about having good attendance and getting good grades, alright?"_

Sonic sat there stunned, "You... you mean...?" He couldn't even form a sentence.

_"Yes Sonic. It will all be free for you."_

He counted his increasing number of blessings, "Thank you so much!"

_"My pleasure. I plan on seeing you at the beginning of school come Monday. Have a good day now."_

Click!

Sonic couldn't believe what he had just heard, it just seemed so unreal.

The others all stared, waiting for him to say something.

Sonic felt tears sting his eyes, he smiled happily. Was it true?

Tails was a bit worried when he saw tears in Sonic's eyes, "Sonic...?"

Finally one tear dribbled down his cheek but he kept the smile there.

Everyone was really worried now.

Sonic sniffed as more tears ran down his cheeks, "I'm enrolled at Eastern High and I don't have to pay a fee or even buy anything. I-I start Monday morning..."

Everyone's faces lit up, "EASTERN HIGH!" they all exclaimed.

Sonic jumped and nodded hesitantly.

Knuckles smiled warmly, "That's where we all go. We're freshmen."

Sonic smiled tentatively, "Then... I won't be as alone as I thought..."

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**Ok so it's shorter than the other chapters, but it's something! Hope you enjoyed it, the next one will be longer, promise!**


	4. Saturday's Final Surprise

**Ok here is the newest chapter for this story, again obviously. XD enjoy!**

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Sonic, for the first time in ages, loved his life. There was no angry, drunken father to randomly beat him; there was no disgusting sounds coming from his father's room; no beer cans, no smokey smell, no illegal drugs, just peace.

Sonic sighed contently.

The others had been working on their homework since 10:30.

Sonic opened his eyes and looked at the clock, just around 4:30. He mentally laughed, 'Guess we can all work on it together come Monday.'

Sonic frowned, Mondays, always the worst day for the beatings. His father would party all weekend and then come home 'drunk as a skunk'. Never once on Monday was Sonic's father too tired to beat him, or too drunk. Around Christmas time was always the worst for the beatings. Sonic shuddered at the memory of last Christmas.

Knuckles caught the shudder, "Sonic, you alright?"

Sonic jumped slightly, but nodded, he was greatful someone pulled him away from the horrid memories.

Knuckles shrugged and continued working.

Sonic looked out the window, he liked being on the second floor of the hospital. Not only did he have a good view but he also could have another escape route if needed. Movement in the windowsill flower pots mad him look down. There with still closed eyes was a kitten. It was gray with a darker gray underside, from what Sonic could tell from the head, it was a girl. He stood up and walked to the window, catching everyone's attention.

They watched him open the window and reach for something in the flowers. Bringing something gray to his chest and closing the window and then settle back down on the bed**. (A/N: Now remember they don't know it's a kitten yet, Sonic does.) **They all walked over to the now smiling Sonic.

They heard a quiet mewl which immediately grabbed their attention.

Knuckles stayed seated, "It's a kitten isn't it?"

Sonic looked up and nodded still smiling.

Amy squealed happily, "Let's see it!"

Sonic uncovered the tiny creature and watched everyone's faces lit up.

The kitten's eyes were still closed and it couldn't yet walk. It meowed and moved its head around.

Cream giggled as it shakily tried moving around.

Blaze rubbed its tiny head and sniffed, "It's a girl." she stated simply.

Silver looked at her curiously, "How do you know that without looking at its privates?"

Blaze giggled, "Because of the shape of her head and her scent."

Shadow raised a brow, "You mean the boy cats smell bad compared to the girls?"

Blaze shook her head, "No, no... The boy cats have a musty smell, when the females have a fresh rain smell."

Knuckles rolled his eyes, "So if we were cats we would smell musty compared to the girls...?"

Blaze thought a moment, "Yep, that about puts it in a nutshell."

Sonic just laughed quietly.

A nurse came in sometime later and saw the cat, then started ranting how animals were not allowed in hospitals. Sonic practically begged her to allow it to stay beside him. After some calming down, she reluctantly agreed under one condition. She would be the one to bring the kitten's food as it aged and grew up.

Sonic smiled and agreed with the somewhat funny condition.

Dr. Kings came in later and checked Sonic's blood pressure, heart beat, breathing, ect. Afterwards he told Sonic he'd be ready to leave by tomorrow night.

Everyone was excited by this news, except Sonic that is. The sooner he got out the sooner he would have to face James and Charlene too.

The kitten mewled, telling Sonic it was hungry. Looking down happily he called for Nurse Catherine. She knew what the call meant and fetched the kitten's milk formula.

After it was good and plump, the kitten slowed down her drinking.

Sonic pulled the small bottle from the kitten and handed it back to Catherine, who took it to wash it.

Tails watched in wonder as Sonic made sure the little girl was nice and snuggled in his arms and allowed it to fall asleep.

Amy grinned, "You have to name her eventually, you know."

Sonic nodded and went into thinking.

The others did some homework and then started falling asleep one by one.

Sonic stayed awake, trying to think of a name. Endless names ran through his head but none seemed right. As midnight came, a certain name came to mind, liked the name and it was his grandmother's name. Smiling, he decided Kaida would be perfect. Sleep caught up with him and he fell asleep with baby Kaida in his arms, purring in her dreams.

~~~The Next Morning around 8:00 am~~~

Sonic's eyes fluttered open to the sun shining through the window. He yawned and stretched, then something hit him, Kaida hadn't been in his arms. Looking around frantically he found her curled up by his side, purring from the warmth. Sonic noted she looked a bit bigger and not as young. Had it been a human, she would be an infant not a newborn.

Sonic smiled as she mewled in her sleep and moved her small head closer to his side. Carefully, he picked her up and placed her in his lap, making sure the blanket was curled around her. She purred louder as a thank you. Sonic chuckled quietly and stroked Kaida's soft gray fur and listened to her content purring.

While Sonic was petting Kaida, Tails woke up and yawned.

Sonic looked at his and chuckled, "Morning."

Tails stood up and walked over, "Morning. Did you figure out what to call her?"

Sonic nodded, "Kaida." he said somewhat proudly.

Tails smiled, "Hey isn't that Japanese for like rain or something, water...?"

Sonic shrugged, "Yea, actually it means 'little dragon'."

Tails yawned again, "Cool."

Sonic just nodded silently.

Knuckles was the next to wake up, Tails and Sonic had been talking on various subjects for the past hour and a half, making it about 9:30 now. He walked over and said, "Hey."

Sonic and Tails waved back.

Kaida mewled, telling Sonic she was ready for breakfast.

Sonic chuckled, "Little Kaida ready for the morning milk?" She mewled again, "I'll take that for a yes."

Sonic pushed the button for Catherine to come with Kaida's milk. She came quickly and left just as fast.

Kaida sipped happily at her milk, glad it was around at any given time.

Sonic sighed, "I can't believe the mother didn't wean her first, then leave her."

Tails nodded, "Yea, it's sad."

Knuckles just stayed silent.

Before 10 came, everyone was up and ready for their morning food, well except Kaida.

Sonic watched the small cat gleefully, 'You'll turn out big and strong, just like your name says.'

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**Ok i'm not really sure how to pronounce that, but lets say (kay-da) just to have a way to say it. this chapter wasn't as long as I had hoped, but it's something. next time: sonic's first day of high school, and the dreadful return home. **


	5. Getting Out and the First Day

**Ok so yea.... I kind of lost inspiration for this story but I got it back after sooo long! Hope you enjoy! Sorry if it's a little long ^_^**

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Sonic and the others had finished breakfast and everyone was ready to go freshen up. They asked Sonic if he wanted to have someone stay but he said there was no need and told them all he wished is that they return for dinner. Having that agreed upon, they all left.

Sonic found the room seemed empty and strangely quiet. Kaida rested in his lap and purred in her sleep. With no one to talk to, Sonic's mind wandered. How would his homecoming be? No doubt James would be ready to give him hell but he didn't want to imagine what. He shuddered and then thought of how High School would be. It would be a relief to get out of the house and be away from his 'father'. The door opened, interrupting his thoughts.

Dr. Kings stood there and came in, "You looked like you were thinking pretty hard, I didn't really want to disturb you."

Sonic shook his head and gave a grin, "Nah, it's fine. It's better for me to not let my thoughts consume me, too many things come up..." He trailed off and sighed, "I just wish things could be normal."

Dr. Kings quirked an eyebrow, "Define normal."

The blue hedgehog thought a moment, "No abusive parent/guardian. No waking up at ungodly hours of the night to be beaten. And perhaps most important, no worry about essentials."

That startled Sonic's doctor, "Essentials?"

Sonic looked down sadly, "In James's house you have to worry about when you're going to get fed next or when you'll have water to drink. He never has anything at the house and makes me pratically scavenge for meals and such. Then there is my room." He shuddered and brought Kaida close, "All I have is a matress and dresser in that room. The matress is old, bloodstained and ripped. I really don't have much use for the dresser, since all I have is one outfit, another need James neglects."

Kings looked at him worriedly, "Have you told anyone just how bad it is? This is serious, you're obviously uncomfortable around the man and his house plus medical tests can supply the rest of the evidence to bring him down. Or-" He met the green eyes of the hedgehog and said, "You don't want to tell."

Sonic bit back tears, "I can't tell, he may do all those vile things but I.... I just have a small hope he'll come to his senses and be a real f-father..." He let go of Kaida and clenched his fists, his eyes held a very deep sadness.

Kings sighed, "That's true with most abuse victims. They always have a hope the person abusing them will see what's wrong and snap out of it but that just doesn't happen. To the abuser it might become an obsession to come home and beat someone, I'm afraid it's a slim to none chance of that happening Sonic; and as a Doctor, I must report this."

Sonic nodded and gently picked up Kaida and put her beside him, snuggling under the covers to take a nap.

Kings took this as his sign to leave and said, "I am sorry you know. Perhaps one of your friends can give you a place to live." With that he exited and took off down the hall.

Sonic sleepily closed his eyes and slept.

~~Around 6 PM~~

Sonic's ear twitched, a shuffling noise caught his attention. He lifted his head and blearily opened his eyes to see everyone in the room, but they were watching something. He followed their gaze to Shadow and Silver who were facing off in Checkers, he held in a laugh.

Silver smirked and said, "I win."

Shadow eyed the board and slammed his fist on it, making the peices go flying about the room, "I AM CURSED TO NEVER WIN A ROUND IN THIS GAME!!!!!!!"

Sonic laughed catching everyone's attention. He looked at Shadow and laughed again, "Apparently you are!"

Shadow rolled his eyes and stood up, "Laugh it up faker, we'll have a match someday and I WILL win..."

Silver looked at Shadow, puzzled, "Faker? Where'd that come from?"

Amy giggled, "They do kinda look alike in some ways..."

Shadow was going to retort but the door opened and Dr. Kings and Sonic's nurse walked in.

Dr. Kings offered Sonic a gentle smile, "Nothing big but we're gonna get you ready to head out, there's not much more we can offer here and you seem to heal rather quickly so we'll do one or two last minute tests and you should be out of here!"

Sonic nodded and then the tests started.

~About an Hour Later...~

"Alright, that should be it and I'll be on my way! Nice meeting you all and hope to not see you under such conditions again!" Dr. Kings took his paperwork and said to the nurse, "I'll need your assistance after Sonic is checked out."

She nodded and began unhooking the various wires connected to Sonic's arms and wrists.

The room was relatively quiet since Sonic's new friends were all in the Lobby when he was ready to leave. Soon Sonic's nurse switched off the heart monitor and said, "That's it, you're free to go."

Sonic nodded and headed to the bathroom to change into the outfit Amy had brought for him, leaving Kaida on the bed.

When he reemerged, the nurse was stroking the small cat and saying, "You become a big girl and maybe someday I'll see you once more..."

Sonic thought a moment and then smiled, "I'll have you see to it that she does become big and strong."

She looked up at him, "What?"

He went to the small cat and picked her up, petting her sleek fur softly, "I'll leave her to you. I can't care for a pet right now, and you really lover her. Plus you seem like you would be a good owner, so I will give you Kaida."

The nurse shook her head, "You don't have to give me your cat, I-" Sonic cut her off by placing the cat in her arms and giving her a grin.

"Just one favor, could you keep her name? I really like it..."

Seeing he wasn't going to take the cat she nodded and offered him a sad smile, "Of course and thank you."

He nodded and exited the room, ready to be free from the hospital. He made the short journey to the main lobby and met up with the others. It was decided that he could stay with Tails.

~~The Next Morning~~

Tails raced through the kitchen and grabbed his toast, pulling his shoes on, "I can't believe that I didn't get up at the normal time!!"

Sonic watched in awe as the kitsune managed to eat his toast while get his shoes on PLUS grab his school bag. He had a regular pair of jeans on and a red short sleeved shirt on, (of course his trademark red shoes too).

Tails let out a huff and then ran for the door, "Let's go Sonic, first class starts at 7:30, and the bus is here!"

Sonic nodded and jogged toward him, glancing at the clock that read 7:00.

The ride to the large high school was rather uneventful but pleasant somehow, Sonic guessed it was the fact that he wasn't going to have to face James again anytime soon.

Tails and Sonic stepped off the bus and climbed the steps to the main entrance. This was possibly the biggest building Sonic had ever seen, the colomns loomed over his head; making him feel slightly intimidated.

Tails noticed his weary looks around and laughed quietly, "It's alright Sonic, the building won't eat you."

Sonic gave him a weak glare and looked around again, "It's just this is a huge place..."

The kitsune rolled his eyes and said, "You should see Venice, Italy... Places bigger and more grand than this old hunk of junk."

Sonic was amazed now, "You've been to Venice?!"

Tails nodded, "Yea my mom and dad took me last summer, beautiful place, just wish they were still around. Nobody else is interested in going with me."

The blue hedgehog said quietly, "I'll go with you..."

Tails stopped and looked at him, "You really want to?"

Sonic gave a small smile and nodded, "Yea we could go when all this crap with James is cleared up!"

Tails nodded and smiled back, "Ok, well the principal's office is right there. See ya later Sonic!" With that the kitsune raced off to presumably his locker.

Sonic entered the small office and was presented with the sight of the principal sitting behind her desk signing some papers.

She looked up and said, "Oh you must be Sonic! Pleasure to have you enrolled in our school." She motioned for him to sit in the chair in front of her desk.

He sat down and fidgited slightly, uneasy.

She let out a small laugh and said, "How rude of me! I know your name but you do not know mine," she shook her head, "my apologies, my name is Principal Powell; you can call me Alice or Ms. Powell whichever you choose."

That lightened him up some, "That makes me feel somewhat better to know your name..." He wasn't really used to speaking to people yet and was sure he appeared shy.

She nodded, "Of course, now onto more important matters..." She shuffled some papers, "We have you a locker, a schedule, any needed school supplies and a try out form..."

Sonic quirked an eyebrow, "What for?"

She gave him a small smile, "Track, the lead coach seems to think you've got what it takes and wants you on the team."

The blue hedgehog nodded and asked politely, "May I see my schedule?"

Ms. Powell nodded and handed him a blue paper that had all his classes, "You have at least one class with some favorite freshman of mine named, Shadow, Silver, Knuckles, Blaze, Amy, Tails and Rouge. (Cream is in the 8th grade.) They're all quite good role models and have a good head."

Sonic smirked and agreed, "I know them all too..." he murmured quietly.

Alice payed didn't hear it, "Well your second class should be starting in about 15 minutes, so I'll tell you where all your classes are."

She explained how to get to each room and where his locker was and looked at the clock, "You have about 8 minutes, I'll see you again soon; hopefully not for trouble reasons."

He nodded and exited the room, heading toward his locker.

As he headed to his second class, he bumped into someone and they both dropped their books. He and the person he hit both said, "Sorry!" at about the same time.

Looking, he saw it was a girl echidna that would've been related to Knuckles. He kneeled down and said, "Sorry, I wasn't looking."

The girl blushed, "Neither was I so it's not your fault..."

They began gathering each other's books and trying to get off the floor.

The girl picked up Sonic's astronomy book and put it on his stack slowly, "You have astronomy next?"

Sonic nodded and found a book exactly like his, "Do you?"

She nodded back, "Yea, the name's Tikal, you?"

Sonic grinned, "Sonic."

Tikal smiled, "My brother Knuckles told me some about you, said you're a nice guy."

He shrugged and picked up his books, "I guess I am, can't really say... Need help?"

Tikal shook her head and picked up the stack of books, "No, thanks though. Come on, let's head to Astronomy..."

Sonic nodded and followed her, getting the feeling this wasn't the last talk he would have with Tikal.

* * *

**Yay! I finally updated, sorry for the ungodly wait you guys had, I promise I'll try and get better at that. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and may more follow! Sorry for typos if there are any... R&R if you liked it!**


	6. Sonic Hates Jocks

**I finally got some inspiration and I am trying to type up chapters as fast as possible, forgive me for the wait now let's see what Sonic has up his gloves...**

**Sonic: Haha very clever...**

**Silence hedgehog I have 3rd person omniscient power!**

**Sonic: Meep.**

**Very good, you know the drill.**

**Sonic: Sigh, she doesn't own me or anyone else, just the plot... Happy? **

**Lol ^_^**

_~ITSLIQUIDSUNSHINEANDYOULOVEIT!~_

Claustrophobia is the fear of having no escape and being closed in. Sonic never used to have it but after years of being abused and locked in rooms with abusive people, it seemed to be one of his worst fears now. He supposed it became a habit of his to locate another exit in every room he went into and he realized it was pretty handy. Especially in this case.

Jocks were another one of his fears, they were often big, bulky and just menacing in general. So being trapped in the boy's locker room by 4 huge Jocks wasn't on his favorite moments list. His least favorite Jocks: Football. They were often times the meanest, ugliest and biggest. Also true in this case.

Sonic's eyes searched desperately for a way out, even if it meant going through the ventilation he _was_ getting out of there. He hadn't been exactly welcome by their terms, he may have been on the track team but he was a little wimp in their eyes. He couldn't help but partially agree with them, he was kind of pathetic when it came to muscle but he had the speed. Apparently that was not good enough for them.

"Oh are we trapping the little pest in," one of them asked with fake sympathy. He had an evil sneer on his face that defined the word Jock. "He looks a little scared, don't he guys," he continued.

Sonic sent him a weak glare and knew this little encounter wasn't going to end well. He knew that it was going to come to either getting beat to hell and back or beating them to hell and back. In this case, he was going to beat. Standing up straight he said, "Whatever, just do what you came to do and leave."

The 2 tag-alongs looked to the 'leader' in question. He in turn grinned and stalked forward.

Sonic swallowed nervously and closed his eyes, deciding not to see what was in store for him. As the two side-kicks grasped his wrists, he took a breath and mentally begged anything holy to let him at least live through this event. The first couple of hits were all it took for him to be on the borderline of unconsciousness, that was when they dropped him on the floor and started kicking him. He couldn't help but imagine it was James beating him.

For 45 minutes, they beat him and called him things until they finally got bored and left him.

Sonic laid there, unable to move. Tears leaked from his eyes, why was it always him getting beat? It was a question he knew would never be answered but he still wondered. He knew they had broken the skin in places, meaning he was bleeding but he found he was numb. In that moment, he wished his friends would come and help him.

A lot of time must've passed but Sonic could not tell, all he could do was lie there in pain. Finally, he heard voices and something ignited in him. He then tried to move, or let out a sound to let the voices know he was there.

~Outside~

"Look none of us have seen him right," Tails asked impatiently. The others nodded, "Then how come I'm the only one who thinks something has happened to him?"

Knuckles crossed his arms, "Look Sonic is Sonic and I think he just went back tot your place, maybe things were too over-whelming."

Tails was about to retort when Shadow shushed them, "Did any of you hear anything?"

Amy nodded with a worried gleam in her eyes, "It sounded like a groan."

It sounded again, this time everyone heard it.

Shadow jogged to the locker room door and entered swiftly. He stopped and stared a moment in shock of what lie before him. There was Sonic, multicolored bruises littering his skin and dried blood in certain places. His eyes were glazed over and seemed to appear completely broken. Overcoming his intial shock, Shadow trudged to the hedgehog. "Sonic..." he said quietly, the sadness in his voice evident. He gently placed his hand of the hedgehog's back and shook him slightly.

Sonic was in a daze, he didn't even care anymore. No one was coming for him, no one cared. Then he felt someone shaking him, what did they want? Focusing on the figure in front of him, he saw black and hints of red. "S-Shadow...?" he asked uncertainly. As he became coherent, Sonic became aware of the pain and grimaced. Then tears started streaming down his cheeks and he tried to hold in his sobs.

Shadow panicked slightly when Sonic began crying, he wasn't cut out for this. He placed his hand on Sonic's arm and called for the others.

Sonic looked back up to Shadow who gave him a worried look and saw him say 'hold on' then it went black. Why did it always end up with him passing out, he wondered. Then he gave into the floating feeling and fell into a troubled slumber of sorts.

_~IT'SLIQUIDSUNSHINEANDYOULOVEIT!~_

**Ok it's not terrific or long but it's something right? I am refusing to let this story go so please hang with me. Again sorry for the wait! I'm typing my fingers off trying to get all of my ideas into word but at least I'm off of the cursed writer's block! Oh and this takes place about two weeks later from the last chapter. I'll be including Tikal in the next chapter, have no fear lol**


	7. What's Going On?

**FINALLY I CAN UPDATE THIS STORY! this and Silver's Sickness have been the only ones I can update and it sucks! But this one is pretty big so it works out I suppose, sorry for the wait, but fanfiction kind of hates me right now.**

Sonic opened his eyes and looked around, why was there no pain? Confused, he sat up in the bed he was in and moved his limbs about. Nothing. Not even a pop from tired joints. Now he was really confused.

"Why isn't he awake yet? They said he would be fine," cried a distraught voice.

Sonic jumped and looked around, where did that come from? It sounded like someone he knew but he couldn't place it. Then it clicked, Tails; the little orange fox with twin tails. The voice had come from right beside him but there was nothing there, what was going on?

"They said he would wake up when he was ready, that doesn't mean he'll magically pop up Tails.." another voice said quietly. "These kind of things take time," the voice continued, "he could still be out for 2 weeks yet just healing, they really did a number on him..."

Sonic looked to his right where the voice had originated. Knuckles. Again he was overcome with utter confusion as to why he could hear voices but there was nothing to see. "Guys," he asked uneasily, voice quivering. He remembered this had happened once before once when James had beat him for most of the day and then brought over Charlene and they had been in the bedroom for 3 hours. He had heard the sounds but saw nothing but he was glad that time.

It was evident he was still unconcious based on what Knuckles and Tails had said but he didn't understand how he was in the room but not seeing anything. It didn't make sense to him. Giving up thinking on the subject, he tried to awaken himself. Easier said than done.

Sonic tried lying there still, that didn't work. He tried pinching himself, that didn't work. Then he wondered if his injuries were so bad his mind was protecting him from the pain. It wouldn't be the first time. After awhile he just settled in and laid still, looking at the ceiling.

Then he began thinking of the past two weeks, they had been rather crazy. Not only had he gotten much closer to Tikal but he had also become sort of a star in track. In the two meets he had been to, he had gotten first in all his events which impressed much of the team. Then he grimaced, that was also the reason he had been beaten up by the jocks. No one was allowed to be compared to the best football players and apparently someone had said he was better than the team leaders of football. Oh how he disliked that person now.

He had also discovered Tails' nack for fixing things and adventure. The little fox had quite a few things he hid from people but he was good at. Sonic smirked then as he remembered how he had convinced Tails to join the Eastern High Tech Club. It had been a victorious day for him since the others had tried to convince the fox for 2 years and he had convinced him in one day. Yeah, life was pretty good.

Then his thoughts wandered to James, and he shuddered. Here he had managed to keep the hedgehog off of his mind for 2 weeks and now he thought of the subject. Then he jumped up, realizing something. Just Monday he had thought he saw the tan hedgehog in the crowd and ran to find Tails or someone he knew. What if it had been him? Had he figured out where he was already. Dread struck through his system and Sonic had the sneaking suspicion that the answer was yes.

"Hey! He's freaking out Knuckles!" Tails cried after the long silence. "He can't breathe, we have to get that tube out!"

Sonic listened and then fell back on the bed and opened his eyes in the real world, finding himself choking and arms flailing. There was a loud, sporadic beeping in the background, it was annoying. Black spots were appearing in his vision, no, he didn't want to go back into the darkness. Then he felt the thing in his airways sliding out and air following it up. As soon as it was out, he coughed and gasped in the air quickly.

"Easy" someone was saying worriedly.

Sonic calmed down and glanced around, Tails and Knuckles had their hands up and were looking frazzled. Feeling relieved to see them in person, he burst into tears and squeezed his hands into fists.

Knuckles looked on completely lost while Tails patted Sonic's shoulder. One minute he was gasping and panting then he was sobbing. So he wasn't an emotional person, so what?

Tails could already tell Sonic was crying in relief and not anything else, when he cried in sadness he curled up into a ball. Then a thought entered the fox's mind, how would they tell him? Oh quite the story there was to tell.

~A little while later~

Sonic was leaning back in the hospital bed, an unhappy look on his face. "So, its really been 4 days," he asked uncertainly.

Knuckles nodded looking uneasy, Tails had gone to find a nurse. "It's like I told you, everyone else went home yesterday to get some rest," he paused, "it was hard for all of us to go to school even." Then a small smile appeared on the echidna's face, "You have no idea how important you become to us," he smirked, "especially Tikal."

Sonic tossed the echidna a confused look, "What do you mean?" He knew Tikal liked him, there was no question about that but for Knuckles to say that had to mean something big.

Knuckles sighed with a smile and stood up, "Check that card on the table beside you." Walking to the door he said, "You should find your answer.." With that he left to presumably get food.

Looking over, Sonic saw a card with his name in quite fancy writing. Opening it up, he began to read. This is how it looked:

_Sonic,_  
_Oh how to say it all, it's almost too hard to find the words. There are so many things I could say but I can't find the nick to say, does that make sense? Oh I don't know anymore. I talked to Knuckles and he told me to just put what I was feeling down but it's so hard. I'm the only one here right now, they've all gone down to eat so I can have privacy. Ok here goes..._  
_I really care for you Sonic. Ever since I met you, you've been very kind and gentle and I like that about you. You might find this a little ridiculous but I find myself really deeply in love with you. And before you wonder why, it's not because you're a big athlete or really smart but because you're you. After everything you've been through you're still so nice to people and warm hearted. I almost don't understand how. There I said it ok? You don't have to return anything but I thought you should know..._  
_-Tikal_

Sonic closed the card slowly and thought about it all. It was almost overwhelming but he realized he felt the same. Smiling at the card, he held it closer and sighed happily. This was the first person to like him in such a way and he liked it. Hearing the door handle turn he looked up expectantly.

Tikal came in and froze, there was Sonic on the bed, holding her card smiling. A blush crept up her cheeks and she waved nervously, "Hi?" Sonic just tilted his head slightly still smiling. This wa going to be awkward...

**YAY It's up! Hope you guys liked it, hopefully this story will still be able for me to update soon cause the next chapter is almost done! No flames please! Oh and yes this is going to be a SonicxTikal story, I won't make it too mushy if you don't like this pairing but I thought I should finalize that thought... 3**


	8. Just the Beginning

**Ok so I have not done anything on my stories for awhile but I'm making up for that I hope! I think I'm doing pretty well thank you. Anyhoo, you all love this story for some reason so I'll be trying and updating this one a little more than the others but not so the others are months behind. I have two updates I'm working on besides this one. My goal is to have all the incomplete stories updated by the end of this month. Ok enough blabbing, you guys want story ;D So be happy!**

_**CHAPTER 9**_

Tikal and Sonic both stayed quiet for awhile, simply waiting for the other to say something. In his head, Sonic knew that he would probably have to start things because of Tikal's naturally shy nature. Sure when she was around friends and comfortable she was pretty outgoing but now, she wouldn't utter a word unless someone else started.

Closing his eyes and leaning back, Sonic said, "You sure have a way with words..." He laughed lightly, "I actually thought you were there when I read the card, you put down everything alright."

Tikal kept looking at her feet, shifting her weight every so often.

Sonic sighed with a smirk, "You don't have to act like you're about to get rejected y'know..." He hoped maybe that would make her pop up. It worked.

Her gaze shot up immediately and looked at him carefully, "W-What...?"

Leaning back once more, Sonic said, "You heard me, Tikal." Oh he had futher ways to prove it to her if need be. He looked at her with a raised brow.

She still seemed skeptical, was he toying with her? Then she noticed the look of honesty and gentleness in his emerald eyes and knew she could trust him.

Smiling softly, Sonic picked the card up from his lap, "_You might find this a little ridiculous but I find myself really deeply in love with you._" Closing the card ever so gently, he flopped back on the bed. "You might me a little ridiculous but I find myself loving you as well," his voice was caring.

Looking at the blue hedgehog before her, Tikal felt herself smiling back at him, her eyes feeling wet. Before she knew it herself, she was being pulled into a hug and squeezed slightly. Her arms moved on their own and sealed the hug, she had finally found herself.

_~A Couple of Weeks Later~_

Things were going great for the two and Sonic couldn't have been happier at school. He was now ranked in the top three on the track team and well favored among the crowd. Not to mention the number of friends he had gotten recently. Plus the jocks who had beat him up were caught and suspended for 10 days.

He had come out of the first trimester with all A's and found himself not believing it. Sure he listened pretty well but ALL A's? This he made sure everyone knew and they smiled, giving him their congrats.

It had gotten around the school quick that him and Tikal were 'going out'. In fact, their first week together was filled with 'awws' and 'you guys are sooo cute together' then there were thumbs up from the guys. Then everyone got used to the idea and the two found themselves actually left alone at lunch instead of being bothered by their 'fans'...

The only bad thing recently that had been happening was his nightmares about James. The dreams were the same every night, James would have his way with Sonic and then beat him till he was unconscious. But sometimes Charlene joined in and made the pain double. Sonic woke up shaking and then sobbing, it felt so real everytime. He hadn't told anyone in fear of being called weak so each night he calmed himself down and stayed up the rest of the night, thinking of his precious people. The weight was heavy though and Sonic knew the truth would come out eventually. For now, he would spare everyone of his nightmares and learn to deal with them.

Although Sonic found hs nightmares weren't the only place he saw James. Everyday when the bus arrived at school, Sonic saw a tan hedgehog glaring at him through the crowd of students. He always froze up when he saw the malice in those dark eyes, almost saying that James was waiting for him. It terrified him to no end, this too he kept to himself however; figuring he was hallucinating.

So there were the great things and the bad things but Sonic merely told himself, "I've been through worse." And how true that was. For now, he kept everything to himself, not wanting to have other people bearing his problems. He had a feeling that is wasn't good to keep such things quiet but he felt like it was all a dream or a hallucination. Could you blame him?

_~Wednesday, Phys Ed. (second to last class of the day.)~_

Sonic, Shadow, Knuckles and Tails headed to the locker room to change into their gym gear with the rest of the guys. Today they were going to play Kickball, one of the class's favorites. Personally however, Knuckles hated it to the core.

The other guys got dressed quickly and left, leaving Shadow, Sonic and Knuckles. With a sigh and a crack of his back, Knuckles too went out. As he did, he went on about how stupid kickball was. Shadow popped his neck and looked over at Sonic who was staring at something in his locker, "Something wrong?"

Sonic flinched and shook his head, "No just thought I saw something..." He kept it hidden though that he had seen someone's shadow in the bathroom however. He knew everyone but him and Shadow were out on the court, so who was it?

Keeping quiet, Shadow finished lacing his shoe and headed out, "Don't take too long." He knew Sonic was hiding something but he wouldn't push him to tell.

Sonic waved him off and stretched, trying to ignore what he had seen... He couldn't. Sighing to himself, he turned toward the bathrooms and carefully made his way in. The smell of those restrooms made a lot of the guys shy away saying they could hold it when they had made their way over to the doorway. Sonic wrinkled his nose in disgust, yeah it was pretty bad.

Once he was in there fully he stopped to listen and thought he heard a shuffle of feet, now he was suspiscious. He lowered his head to see if he saw any legs but didn't. Standing up again fully, he shrugged and began heading out. he was about to turn the corner to exit the restrooms when his head got slammed again the wall. He saw stars and then turned and saw James. His eyes widened and he began backing away, how could he have gotten in to the school?

"Miss me _son_," the hedgehog sneered. He kept his slow approach forward, grinning like a mad man.

Sonic shook his head, he wasn't seeing this, he _couldn't_ be! He felt the wall as he backed up into it and panicked slightly. His heart leaped into his throat and he decided to get out of there. Kicking James in the stomach, he ran outside of the bathrooms and toward the locker room door which had somehow gotten closed. Reaching for the handle he pulled and froze... it was locked. Panic caught up with him and he kept trying to open the door with no success. James laughed behind him.

"Looks like we'll be in here for awhile Sonic," you could tell by his voice he was smirking.

Sonic breathing increased, and he fell to his knees, still holding onto the handle. Things had been so good, he didn't want to be hurt anymore. He didn't even try and hide his tears as he felt the hopelessness of the situation settle in. He was locked in a room with the man who had hurt him stolen all of his innocence. He felt hot breath on the back of his neck and clutched onto the doorhandle like it was his lifeline. Then hands began roaming his body and that's when he really panicked. "HELP!" he shouted, hoping by some chance someone would hear him. James began trying to pull him away from the door, telling him to shut up.

"SOMEBODY HELP ME!" he cried as he felt his grip weakening. He couldn't go through this again!

Getting desparate, James whacked Sonic on the back of the head, dazing him. Then he heard the pounding on the door and tensed. Cursing everything imaginable, he rolled over the dazed hedgehog and said, "I will get you brat, I don't care what happens to me; I WILL GET YOU!" He threw Sonic's head into the cemented floor and put his foot on his chest, "Don't think your little friends can stop me, I will have you again."

Sonic could only watch in fear as James kicked him and dissappeared into the bathroom. He looked at the ceiling with awe as stars danced around, not even paying any mind to the voices shouting his name. It was when he heard the door falling off its hinges when he noticed anything around him.

Shadow rushed in after the door fell and went to the hedgehog on the floor. "Sonic," he called, "you alright?"

Sonic looked at him strangely then sat up slowly, looking around cautiously, "Where is he..?" Everything felt jumbled but he knew it was just from having his head hit.

Shadow looked at the the other carefully, "Where is who, Sonic?" He had a bad feeling he knew who however.

"James," Sonic said slowly. Shaking his head he got up, stumbling slightly.

Knuckles and Tails finally shoved through the crowd at the door and looked at the two before them. Tails put his hand on Sonic's shoulder and asked, "You alright? Shadow heard you shouting and got worried."

Sonic blinked, "You did hear me?"

The three nodded and Shadow asked, "Where did he go Sonic?"

Sonic pointed toward the restrooms, "He went that way..." Why was he feeling so calm after what had happened? He pondered this as Shadow called some of the guys to check out the restrooms with him. Looking to Tails he asked him, "Is my head bleeding or anything?"

Tails's eyes flashed with concern, "Let me see." He carefully went through Sonic's head quills and found nothing bleeding but did see a bruise forming. "No bleeding, just bruising," he said slowly.

Then Sonic asked, "Why do I feel so calm after what happened Tails?"

Tails wondered why too, he knew that it had something to do with that bruising though.

Shadow and the other guys came back out, "Looks like he made a quick escape through the ventilation. He sure has some knowledge to him to know about that way in."

The gym teacher came in, "Everything calmed down in here?" He looked over everyone but Sonic and seemed pleased enough.

Sonic glared at the teacher, this was the only one who looked down on him and had even degraded him with names. He didn't plan on telling unless the man tried something but he couldn't hide his dislike.

No one said anything. "Then without futher ado, let's continue class shall we?" the gym teacher said dramatically. He paused at the door, "Oh and Mr. Hedgehog, don't disrupt my class again."

Shadow, Knuckles and Tails stared at the man with confusion, disrupt the class? He was attacked, they all thought at the same time.

Somehow Sonic knew through his clouded thoughts that that wasn't the end of this bad relationship with his gym teacher. He still wondered why he felt so calm after being attacked by James again but put it aside, surely it would settle in eventually. Right?

**Can't say I'm happy with this chapter but I don't hate it either... I'm bad with action scenes so sorry if it seemed slow. Yes there is a reason I kept putting how calm Sonic was but that will be revealed in due time. Hope you liked this more than I.**


	9. One Problem After Another

**So here we are once more on my #1 story. It feels good to know people actually enjoy what I write. Hope you continue to enjoy it! Oh and just for the record, Sonic does cuss a little in this chapter. Now for what you came to read:**

Sonic had been made to run 25 laps around the track as punishment for 'disrupting the class'; he didn't feel like arguing so he decided to do all 25. The gym teacher was the only one out there with him and kept barking at him like some kind of rapid dog. _A pain in the ass is what you are_, he tought bitterly.

Even though his head was killing him and his legs were wanting to give out, Sonic kept going; he had decided long ago when he had had his first fight with this teacher that he wouldn't be the one to lose. Upon realizing he was only on the eighth lap, Sonic decided to let his mind wander to other things to distract himself.

His thoughts immediately went to James. Just how had the man been able to sneak into this school so easily? They had sensors, locks, cameras and even motion detectors at every possible entrance or exit. Then a stray idea struck home... what if he had an inside man? Sonic then began going over the attack in his mind and it all pointed to the fact that James had someone in the school helping him to get his son back.

Sonic shuddered at the very idea, now he had to worry about James and one of the teachers. Then another idea hit him, what if it wasn't just one teacher? He tripped slightly while running but kept going. He was probably thinking into things too much but he couldn't help but to notice the small nagging voice in the background warning him to watch his steps carefully.

As he finally finished, Sonic had to force himself to ignore the burning of his legs. Sure he ran for track but even then it was only 4-5 laps at once, more at times, less at others.

The teacher, Mr. Flynn came over with a smug look, "What you aren't tired or anything are you?" His voice was full of mockery and sarcasm and it made Sonic angry. "Come on," he started again, "you're such a weak person." He scoffed, "Can't even handle 25 laps and you're worn out, stupid weaklings..." He continued muttering and Sonic anger only rose higher.

Mr. Flynn stopped and grinned at Sonic, "You know what? We have a good hour together left, do another 30."

Sonic gaped at the man like he had completely lost it which he learned was a mistake. He barely registered the sharp snap of his head as the gym teacher's fist flew at his face. He stumbled and held his cheek painfully. Rage filled him.

"If only the others hadn't had heard your pathetic screaming," Flynn said in a bummed out voice, "any longer and James would've had you out of my hair."

The evil grin was the only other proof Sonic needed. "You helped him," he muttered, his eyes dark.

Flynn smirked lightly, "Yeah and what are you gonna do ab-" He was cut off by a hard fist to his cheek. Stumbling slightly, he laughed and lifted his glare to Sonic, "You'll regret that so much when I'm done with you..." Waiting not a moment more, he launched himself at the other, knocking them both to the ground.

They rolled about, trading fists and kicks. Sonic at one point bit down hard on Flynn's forearm which ended up bleeding. Neither of them appeared to notice the blood or the fact that the students were racing out to the track.

Flynn found a piece of rock that had come loose from the track and whacked it right below Sonic's ear. He laughed as blood began to flood from the wound, more or less blinding Sonic in his left eye.

Becoming desperate, Sonic spit into Flynn's eyes and kicked him off, trying to clean off the blood from his gash. He still couldn't see through all of the blood in his left eye but Sonic charged forward to meet the other's run regardless. They ran into each other and stumbled back before charging again.

Flynn got a well aimed kick to Sonic's gut that rendered him helpless momentarily. He laughed and kicked again, causing Sonic to double over. Bending over the student below him, he gripped the blue hedgehog's throat and lifted him into the air. "I win," he said with an evil smile as the other kicked and stuggled for breath.

Sonic choked and spluttered as his air supply ran out, he tried harder to pull at the tight hands at his throat to no avail. Then he saw Flynn's smirk and broke. He swung his leg with deadly force at the man's neck and relished in the air that flooded his lungs as he fell to the ground.

"Sonic!" a voice called frantically, approaching fast.

He lifted his head to see his friends coming to his side, avoiding the gym teacher's still form on the ground like the plague. His hand flew to the gash near his ear and he groaned in pain.

"We tried to get in as fast as we could but that bastard locked the gate with this huge lock, we had to get through it..." it was Tails. He kept rambling and then exclaimed, "Oh! We need to get you fixed up..."

He seemed bothered, Sonic mentally noted. "What's going on Tails," he asked slowly, "why are you so panicky?"

Tails, Silver and Shadow froze and looked at him warily. Tails swallowed nervously, "You don't see it...?"

Sonic met their wary gazes with a confused one and then he glanced at the gym teacher. He laid still with his eyes open and his mouth in a scowl... he was dead.

Tails shook his head, "We saw him strangling you and started hurrying and then when you kicked him... you..."

"Broke his neck," Shadow finished without a hint of trouble.

Sonic's mouth hung agape as he stared at the body of the person he had killed. He had actually _killed_ someone, a teacher no less. "Oh God..." he muttered, his hand covering his mouth to try and keep his lunch in; that didn't help at all.

Tails merely patted the hedgehog's back as he threw up, his eyes not seeing anything. What would they do now?

**Wow that's kind of surprising even to me. I wasn't expecting my head to take things this way but whatever! Things are getting set in motion now, the climax is soon to come ladies and gents. I've been pretty sick for about 2 weeks so this took a lot longer to get up than I wanted, sorry for the delay.**


	10. The Warning and Connections

**Here we are again. Based on the last chapter, it is time to reveal some things and get the rising action really pumping. Sonic killed Mr. Flynn in the last chapter and we get to see what happens because of that. I feel like leaving people gaping at the end.. *Grins mischievously* I like that idea very much.**

**Oh while I'm thinking about it, I made a typo in the last chapter and I had it as Silver, Shadow and Tails who came to Sonic when in reality it should've been Knuckles, Shadow and Tails. Just an FYI.**

The ambulance arrived as soon as someone had called the event in, they confirmed the teacher to be dead and called for a coroner to pick up his body. They had already cleaned up Sonic's gash and bandaged it when the coroner arrived to take the body for identification back at the morgue. They had not paid much mind to Sonic's wounds but merely told him to make sure he had no further head trauma or he would probably wind up in the hospital again for quite awhile.

Only people in the class knew of what happened and none had spoken out about it, either too scared to or they were waiting for the right time to start talking about it. In fact the only ones who had spoken up had been Knuckles, Shadow and Tails and that was to the others.

Sonic had been called to the principal's office but nothing had happened. Ms. Powell stared at him a while and then began explaining what had happened, which was pointless in Sonic's eyes. He had been the victim and here the principal was telling_ him_ of all people what had went down. He was half listening when he noticed she had stopped talking.

Her eyes were blank, her hands folded in front of her mouth in a contemplative manner. "I understand why you did it," she said monotonously, "it was all self defense and the court shall rule it as such. Go now, boy, go to your friends."

Noticing her drastic change in attitude, he left quickly. Tikal and the others were patiently awaiting outside the office.

"What'd she say," Tikal questioned quietly.

Sonic shook his head and motioned for them all to follow him. He went into a side hall with them with no cameras and said, "She didn't say much and what she did say was like it was prepared." His voice dropped, "It was like she was reading from some kind of script..."

The others all gave him surprised looks. "You really think that...?" one of them asked.

The blue hedgehog nodded lightly, "Mr. Flynn admitted to me before I... that he was in league with my fa- James, and I can't help but wonder if she is too."

The others stood there in shock, desperately searching for a way to prove him wrong but there was no evidence either way, to them. It seemed like everything was suddenly changing and they couldn't do anything to stop it.

Sonic began thinking and trying to connect some kind of dot. Could it be coincidence that the woman had accepted him so easily? Or had it all been part of James' plan to get him back? All these questions and he had no answers. One thing was certain, he had to watch his back more carefully from now on.

"Oh sorry, didn't know anybody was still here," a voice said behind them.

They all swung around and was met with the sight of the janitor, smiling kindly at them.

"Oh hey Ruben," Sonic greeted, "has everyone really already gone home?"

The old man nodded, "Yes about a half hour ago I believe... I heard what happened with Flynn. It's a pity but in my mind he had it coming."

The blue hedgehog studied him carefully, "What do you mean?"

Ruben glanced around and moved closer, "You didn't hear any of this from me.."

Everyone nodded in agreement, eager to hear what he had to say.

"Flynn had it coming because he has a bad history of overworking his students to the breaking point and beyond. He has also physically hurt students when they didn't do as he wished. Ms. Powell is a different story..." He paused and placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder, "She'll be about you now sonny," he said, his eyes sad. "You killed her mate."

Sonic gaped at him, "They were mates...?"

Ruben's eyes hardened with an unknown emotion, "Yes. They feared that if they were married that the enemy would discover Flynn and he would be jailed. I personally didn't care but they made me swear never to tell anyone of their relations." The older man shook his head, brushing his hand through his hair. "None of could have seen that it would be one of the student to end his reign of terror."

Sonic felt weak and fell to his knees. Ignorance _is_ bliss.

The old janitor went to one knee and placed his hand on Sonic's shoulder once more, "Listen to me, Sonic. There is a reason for everything. A reason why you were so easily accepted into this school, a reason that it was you who ended Flynn, a reason why I am the one telling you this. She has been after you for awhile but you never would have noticed it had this not happened. Your 'father' is the one who has been helping her. Think of all the people you have seen around your father; which one comes to mind as being female?"

Sonic's head shot up and his eyes flashed with understanding, "Charlene..." He met Ruben's eyes and asked, "How do you know so much about me? How do you know all of this?"

A coy smile crept up on Ruben's face. "All in good time, young one. Let me ask you something first, then I'll answer your questions. What did Powell tell you her name was?"

Sonic thought back to the first day he had arrived at the school and barely recalled the woman in question saying Alice. "Alice. She told me to call her Alice or Ms. Powell," he said quietly.

The man nodded, "I thought as much, giving out her alias name, not her true name... That woman's real name is Charlene. Do you see the connection now?"

Sonic held his head, it all came together and he realized just how long this woman had been there in his life. "What does she want with me?"

Ruben averted his eyes, "I won't lie to you, she kept telling me and Flynn how much she wanted you dead but would never say why, perhaps she didn't have a reason back then but now..." He trailed, knowing full well Sonic could finish the thought himself. "She is going to be after you even more because of this, Sonic; you have to be careful or you _will_ die. She is not afraid to kill you, especially now."

Tikal collapsed next to Sonic and hugged him, sensing his distress. "We will get through this, Sonic... I swear it to you," she whispered.

His hand reached up and clutched at Tikal's. He definitely needed her support right now.

The old janitor stood and checked his watch, "I must go now, I suspect Ms. Powell will be looking for me." He turned back to Sonic and brought him to his feet. "You will succeed in living, I have no doubt about it, Sonic; just keep your head up. You are and have always been destined for greatness, that I know for sure."

Sonic lifted his eyes to meet the other man's and found his eyes were twinkling with.. pride. On a whim, Sonic gathered Ruben into a hug. "Thank you, so much," he murmured.

Ruben returned the hug swiftly and then took his leave. He waved behind him as he rounded the corner and was gone.

Sonic, having found Tikal's hand motioned for them to leave as well, the others wordlessly agreed and they filed out the doors.

Unbeknownst to any of them, Ruben had slipped back around the corner and had watched them exit, a small smile on his face. "I know you will succeed, son."

**There another chapter! Did you guys like it? I put some twists in and I hope none of you saw it coming. More twists and turns are coming in the future, that I promise. READ THIS NOTE - RUBEN IS A HEDGEHOG! He has black fur and fuzzy quills with green eyes.**


	11. Murderer

**The twists in the last chapter probably caught some of you off guard. I read it myself and was kind of shocked as to how I came up with some things... Oh well! :) Suppose I can only go from where it left off, kind of... :P Now without further ado, I give you Chapter 11. Oh and before I forget, THERE ARE MULTIPLE CURSE WORDS IN THIS CHAPTER, FAIR WARNING.**

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The group had decided to go to Tails's house and relax. Even though everyone noticed Sonic's odd silence they left him be, figuring he needed to think about things. Little did they know, that was indeed the case.

Sonic excused himself to the backyard, his thoughts not allowing him to focus on anything. Walking around, he began trying to sort things out.

So, Charlene had been closer to him than he had realized and that probably explained why he had always thought he had seen James around the school campus; it had been him. His bastard of a father had been so close but so far from him. Then something finally wiggled into his mind, just what was it that James had against him?

He stopped his pacing; yes just what was it that made James want to kill him everyday? What had he ever done to deserve such treatment in the first place? The questions began coming at such a rate that he held his head to try and hold back the coming headache.

Or, he wondered was this just a way for James to vent and relax? By beating him daily was that his form of venting out all of his emotions.

Sonic snorted, what did it matter. Even if it was some odd way to deal with built up and suppressed emotions, it didn't mean he had a right to it. Why had it taken him so long to question why? Why had he not done so before? Was it because he was scared, or was it because he had thought he had deserved such treatment because he had done something wrong? Sonic guessed the latter, remembering slightly how he would tell himself he brought the beating on.

The blue hedgehog huffed and sat on the grass, the war sun beaming down on him. So overall his jackass father was a no good idiot who thought he had rights to things he clearly didn't.

Then something else wiggled into his mind. Hadn't Ruben said that Charlene's mate was Flynn? Then why had Charlene slept with James? So she had been two timing both of them?

He laughed sourly, little realizations like these were ones he didn't care for.

On a split second decision, Sonic decided to take a walk around town. He told the others and headed out, his mind still swimming with different odd questions that he had no answer to. He huddled into himself when a chilled wind blew past him. Taking note of his surroundings, he realized he was in the local park. Sighing a long sigh, he continued on his way and then noticed something. Where those footsteps separate from his own?

Glancing behind him, all he saw was the cold eyes and distinct smirk. He stumbled and turned about quickly, "What the hell do you want now?"

James slunk forward casually, "Kiddo, let me give you life lesson... When you kill someone's brother, the family might tend to come after your sorry ass."

Sonic let it sink in and then he froze, "Flynn was... he was..."

The tan hedghog before him laughed manically and glared, "Yes, you fool, Flynn was my little brother. Do you feel good about that? You damn murderer! YOU KILLED MY BABY BROTHER!"

For the first time in his life, Sonic saw genuine pain in those eyes he had learned to fear and hate. He backed away as James stalked toward him menacingly.

"You'll pay for this you damn brat!" He roared in anger. At this he ran forward.

Sonic ran from him, fear taking over his senses and telling him to go. He could hear James' heavy footfalls behind him but he didn't care, he had to get out. Everything blurred as his track speed overtook him. He knew James was falling behind but he didn't slow. Sonic ran and ran until he found himself nearing Tails' house. In the distance he heard a roar of anguish calling, "DAMN YOU!"

He entered the house, breathless and shaking; his nerves were a mess. He took in shaky breaths and ran his hand through his quills, trying to calm himself.

Tails came over wordlessly and put a hand on Sonic's shoulder.

Sonic feverishly met his eyes, his own darting around the room. "W-Where are the others...?" he questioned finally.

"They went home, I told them you needed some time alone." Tails was solemn, Sonic could tell. "What's going on? You're frantic right now." Tails had noticed something was wrong as soon as Sonic had entered the house, it had to be bad too.

Sonic shook his hand and started pacing, "J-James was in park... Ikilledhisbrother..." He gripped his head and kept pacing.

Tails blinked, "...What?"

Sonic huffed a few breaths and gripped the table, still trying to calm his frazeled nerves. "James was at the park, he knew I was there - I don't know how... He called me a murderer because I... I kil-" He shook his head again, "No I did- they couldn't have been related... could they have? I don't think so... he was never around the house so... but they could have..."

Tails caught pieces here and there but was still confused. "Why did he call you a murderer? Because you killed Flynn? That was self defense, we have gone over this Sonic, try and calm down; you're going to pop a blood vessel at this rate.."

"That doesn't change what I did.. I still killed someone, I _am_ a murderer aren't I?" Sonic resumed pacing.

Finally Tails had enough. He stood and stopped Sonic in his tracks by grabbing his shoulders. "You're leaving something out, now tell me what that is." The tone left no room for argument, it reminded Sonic of the tone James would sometimes use on him.

"Flynn was his little brother..." Sonic murmured, shock taking over now. His body began shaking and his eyes glazed, "I killed his little brother... I killed him..."

Tails stood there wordlessly, this certainly complicated things further. When he noticed Sonic was gagging, he grabbed the trash can and patted his shoulder as the hedgehog threw up what was left in his stomach. Why was life so unkind to Sonic?

Sonic's head was pounding, his gash pulsing and sore. His stomach heaving and his legs worn out. Suddenly he felt like everything was being ripped from him and began sobbing. He was barely aware of Tails wiping his face and then bringing him into a hug. Why did things have to be so terrible?

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**Wow I am mean to Sonic, aren't I... O_o It's a pretty longish chapter, right? It's something. I should be updating this soon enough so keep watch people. Thanks for reading this meager chapter!**


	12. Important Notice

Dear Readers of SonicStories101,

It is my sad duty to inform to you that recently my friend, the author of these stories, passed away. She had been very ill as of late and had been trying to write on her beloved stories but unfortunately she did not finish any of her as of now unfinished stories. She spoke very highly of you, the reviewers and her passion was writing Sonic stories. Her illness got the better of her just recently but she asked me to write this to all of you to let you know. And bless her heart, she asked that I find someone to complete her unfinished works because she loved them so.

I do regret in informing you of such news. She was my best friend and I miss her already so much. I wish I could tell you this was some kind of elaborate hoax but it is not. I am sorry for that. I hope that I can fullfill her wish to have these stories completed. Please, if you have ideas for the future of any of these unfinished stories, message this account.

I apologize again for the sad tidings. I hope she may rest in peace...

Sincerely,

GhostiesandGhoulies


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